


The Black Mirror

by thequidditchpitch_archivist



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Book 6: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Drama, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, Friendship, Minor Character Death, Mystery, Post-Hogwarts, Romance, The Quidditch Pitch: Leaving Feast
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-08-05
Updated: 2006-08-05
Packaged: 2018-10-26 13:27:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10787601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thequidditchpitch_archivist/pseuds/thequidditchpitch_archivist
Summary: Harry and his friends embark on their quest to destroy the most evil of all Dark Wizards, Lord Voldemort. Life throws Harry a few hilarious curves along the way, and he finds himself in the middle of two girls who can't stop bickering. Join them on their journey to Hogwarts and beyond, as they find the Horcruxes, confront an old professor, discover the meaning of love, and face the wrath of Lord Voldemort. In the end, good triumphs and evil is destroyed - or is it? This is my version of the 7th Harry Potter Book.





	The Black Mirror

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Annie, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [The Quidditch Pitch](http://fanlore.org/wiki/The_Quidditch_Pitch), which went offline in 2015 when the hosting expired, at a time I was not able to renew it. I contacted Open Doors, hoping to preserve the archive using an old backup, and began importing these works as an Open Doors-approved project in April 2017. Open Doors e-mailed all authors about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact us using the e-mail address on [The Quidditch Pitch collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/thequidditchpitch/profile).

It was a beautiful day. The June sun shimmered over the lush grounds of Hogwarts. The lake was calm and still, inviting, even, if you didn’t know what lurked beneath the surface. The stone walls of the castle itself seemed brighter than usual and insects buzzed delightedly around. For once, even the gloom over the Forbidden Forest seemed to have lifted, making it appear cheerful and pleasant. The very air seemed happy that summer had arrived. It was a glorious day, the kind for lounging about in the sun. It was not a day to lay a friend to rest.  
  
Yet, a white tomb gleamed across the lake from where Harry Potter stood with his two best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. The two boys were as different as could be: Ron was tall and lanky, with vivid red hair, and Harry was small, with perpetually ruffled black hair and glasses. Hermione was petite, with bushy brown hair and dark brown eyes. The three friends gazed across the lake at the tomb. A supreme sadness engulfed them all, for encased inside it, lay the greatest wizard of their time, murdered by one he’d trusted above all others.  
  
“So, it’s settled then?” Ron asked the others, turning away from Dumbledore’s tomb. “We’re going to my mum and dad’s house, and then to the Dursleys’?”  
  
“Yeah,” replied Harry, rather absently.  
  
“No,” answered Hermione. “As much as I’d love to, I do have to go home at some point this summer. It may as well be now.”  
  
“But you’ll be there for the wedding next week, right?” Ron continued.  
  
“Of course!” she exclaimed.  
  
“The carriages are here,” Harry informed them. The friends began to walk towards the entrance, where a long line of carriages, seemingly pulled by nothing, were waiting. Harry walked rather quickly, eager to begin the journey that would lead to the fulfillment of the prophecy, one way or another. Ron and Hermione, holding hands, followed several paces behind.  
  
“Harry Potter, sir! Harry Potter, sir!”  
  
Several students turned towards the high-pitched voice. A tiny creature was running towards Harry, bat-like ears flapping wildly on either side of his head.  
  
“Dobby?” Harry asked in amazement.  
  
“Harry Potter, sir!” the elf exclaimed, short of breath as he caught up to them. Ron and Hermione had covered the distance to Harry, who stopped dead at the sight of Dobby.  
  
“What is it?” Ron questioned. Dobby was wringing his knobby hands in agony.  
  
“Kreacher, sir! It is Kreacher! Kreacher is gone, sir!” Dobby wailed.  
  
“ _Gone_?” Harry shouted. “What do you mean, _gone_?”  
  
“Dobby returned to the kitchens after Professor Dumbledore’s funeral,” replied the elf, tears in his round, tennis-ball eyes, “and Kreacher was not there, sir. Dobby asked the other elves, sir, but they isn’t knowing where Kreacher went!” And with that, the elf broke down, sobbing hysterically.  
  
For a few moments, the only sound was that of his sniffles, when suddenly Harry bellowed, “KREACHER!”  
  
With a loud _crack_ the aging Kreacher appeared in front of them. He bowed low, his nose nearly touching the grass at his feet.   
  
“Master wanted Kreacher?” he croaked.  
  
“Where have you been?” Harry demanded. Hermione laid a restraining hand on his arm, but Harry shook it off. A glance at Ron seemed to make up her mind; she took a step backwards, leaving Harry to deal with his troublesome inheritance.  
  
Kreacher, meanwhile, was muttering softly, “Master wants to know where Kreacher was? Why does Master care now? Master hasn’t bothered with Kreacher until now. Of course, Master wants to know where Kreacher was now, when Kreacher was talking to his Mistress. Kreacher was telling his Mistress all about his Master, such a Master, the filthy little Potter brat — “  
  
“Kreacher, I asked you a question,” Harry reminded him through clenched teeth.  
  
“Kreacher went home, sir. Kreacher wanted to talk to his Mistress,” came the reply.  
  
Hermione made a pathetic sound in the back of her throat, and Harry, turning towards her, saw the compassion on her face. Immediately, he recalled Dumbledore’s words to him about showing Kreacher compassion and pity.  
  
In a much gentler voice, he said, “Er, well, just ask me next time.”  
  
Kreacher appeared stunned for a moment, but, quickly recovering, he bowed in acquiesce. Harry was at a bit of a loss for what to do now. Dobby had, thankfully, stopped crying, but he seemed to be thinking something over.  
  
“Harry Potter, sir?” he asked tentatively. “Dobby has another problem. Dobby and Winky was free elves, sir, serving Professor Dumbledore. Dobby and Winky has nowhere to go, sir.” He began to sob again.  
  
“Tell you what, Dobby. You and Winky and Kreacher go on to my house. There is plenty of room and work for the three of you there,” Ron suggested.  
  
“What a great idea, Ron!” exclaimed Hermione.  
  
“Will Dobby still get paid, sir?” he asked Ron.  
  
“Er, well,” stuttered Ron.  
  
“Dobby, I’ll pay you the same Dumbledore did to look after Kreacher and help the Weasleys out around the house. They’ve got a wedding to plan in a week, so they will need all the help they can get,” Harry told him.  
  
“Oh, thank you, sir!” the elf bubbled, tears once again filling his eyes.

“Kreacher,” commanded Harry, “go with Dobby and don’t leave the Burrow unless I give you permission to do so. Do whatever Mrs. Weasley asks you to do,” he added.  
  
“Yes, Master,” the elf replied. He and Dobby walked back towards the castle, Kreacher muttering the whole way.  
  
“Well, that’s one thing settled for the time being. I hope your mum doesn’t mind that I sent them all there, but I will figure out something to do with them when I get there this evening,” Harry told Ron.   
  
Ron, who was a bit red, mumbled, “You don’t have to pay him to work for us. We can manage now, with Dad’s promotion and all.”  
  
Harry was saved from answering by a loud cry from Hermione.  
  
“Oh no!” She moaned. Harry and Ron turned to see her pointing at the main gate of the school, where the thestral-drawn carriages were taking their fellow students away. “What do we do now?”  
  
Ron and Harry looked at each other blankly.  
  
“I suppose we go back into the castle and ask McGonagall what she thinks,” Harry proposed. “This ought to be fun.”  
  
The boys turned towards the castle, each dreading the confrontation with Professor McGonagall, the new Headmistress. She was a very fair woman, but strict, and they were certain she was not going to be pleased with them.  
  
“Wait!” called Hermione. Turning, Harry saw the last carriage in the long line stopped at the gate.  
  
“Run for it!” shouted Ron, sprinting off. Harry and Hermione followed. They reached the carriage, whose door was held open, apparently waiting for them.  
  
As they looked inside, they saw it would be rather crowded. Ginny, Neville, and Luna were already seated.  
  
“Got distracted, did you?” asked Ginny, a playful smile on her lips.  
  
“Thanks,” Harry muttered. “For holding the carriage for us, I mean.”  
  
“Yeah, thanks Ginny,” agreed Ron, as he climbed in the remaining seat. “We weren’t looking forward to having to tell McGonagall we’d missed them.”  
  
Hermione climbed in behind him and sat sideways across his lap. As Harry pulled himself into the carriage, his eyes met Ginny’s briefly before he turned away, looking around.  
  
“I’ll sit on the floor,” he stated abruptly.  
  
The carriage restarted, clattering away down the road. The trip to Hogsmeade Station was rather short, and no one said much of anything. The funeral had subdued even Luna’s usual high spirits. For once, she wasn’t reading her father’s magazine, _The Quibbler_ , but sitting rather quietly, staring at Harry. The carriage arrived at the station, and they found that all the other students were already on board.  
  
The six of them climbed out of the carriage and boarded the train. They managed to find an empty compartment, but, as it was the only one, they had to share. Ron and Hermione looked annoyed with this, but Harry was a bit relieved. He knew that they wanted to talk about the Horcruxes and their mission, but he just wanted to sit quietly for a time and think about the friends and family he’d lost, what he still had yet to do, and hopefully, his future.  
  
Without Malfoy there to cause trouble, the journey to London was very quiet. No one seemed to feel like talking much. They dozed off and on throughout the trip, catching up on sleep they’d missed over the past few days. Occasionally a conversation would start, but they always died quickly. For the most part, everyone kept to themselves. Harry spent most of the time pretending to sleep so he could avoid looking at Ginny, who was sitting across from him, afraid if he did, he would break his resolution to keep her out of harm’s way.  
  
The scenery rolled past at a seemingly quicker pace than usual, and before long, they had arrived at King’s Cross and Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. Even still, it was after dark when they exited the train. As he did so, Harry took a final look around at the platform. He knew that this would be the last time he would ever see it, and he wanted to savor that feeling of being in another world for just another moment before he said good-bye to it forever. He sighed, and pulled his trunk along behind him through the barrier into the Muggle world.

 


End file.
